Apple iPhone 6s battery life test

Our Apple iPhone 6s unit arrived earlier this week and we spent some really quality time with the handset. It turned out its A9 chip is a beast, while its new camera is rather unimpressive. The 3D Touch on the other hand is yet to prove itself as a useful innovation.

Anyway, the review is live now and it's time we share the complete battery life breakdown. Are the new chip and new iOS making it up for the smaller battery? Let's find out.

Our first test gauges the 3G talk time endurance and the iPhone 6s posted a rather mediocre result of 9 hours and 41 minutes.

Talk time

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro33:20h

Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G33:19h

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+30:29h

OnePlus 230:29h

Motorola DROID Turbo30:09h

Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM29:46h

Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE29:46h

Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM29:46h

Microsoft Lumia 640 XL29:46h

Samsung Galaxy Note528:34h

HTC One (M8) for Windows28:34h

Nokia Lumia 152028:34h

Samsung Galaxy Note 428:31h

Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet LTE28:25h

Samsung Galaxy S527:37h

Sony Xperia Z126:53h

Samsung Galaxy S6 active26:29h

Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.725:45h

LG G325:38h

LG G Pro 225:37h

LG G Flex25:19h

Sony Xperia T2 Ultra25:16h

LG G225:15h

Samsung Galaxy A7 Duos25:12h

BlackBerry Passport25:12h

Huawei Ascend Mate25:12h

Motorola Nexus 625:03h

Alcatel Hero25:02h

Oppo N125:01h

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo24:52h

Sony Xperia Z Ultra24:23h

Apple iPhone 6 Plus23:49h

LG AKA23:20h

Sony Xperia Z323:13h

Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM23:09h

Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE23:09h

Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM23:09h

Oppo R722:58h

Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus22:42h

Motorola Moto E (2nd gen)22:36h

Sony Xperia Z222:13h

Sony Xperia C3 Dual22:11h

Meizu MX4 Pro22:09h

Yota YotaPhone 222:09h

Samsung ATIV SE22:05h

Xiaomi Redmi Note21:41h

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge21:39h

ZTE Axon Pro21:23h

Xiaomi Mi 4i21:02h

Meizu m2 note20:55h

LG Optimus G Pro E98520:45h

HTC One M920:44h

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact20:42h

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX20:24h

Motorola RAZR i XT89020:07h

Huawei Ascend Mate720:06h

Samsung Galaxy A320:04h

Samsung Galaxy E720:04h

Samsung Galaxy A3 Duos20:04h

Oppo Find 720:03h

Samsung Galaxy S5 Active20:01h

BlackBerry Q1020:00h

OnePlus One19:56h

Samsung Galaxy Grand 219:55h

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I920019:54h

Sony Xperia SP19:49h

Samsung Galaxy S619:48h

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge19:48h

Sony Xperia T319:48h

HTC Butterfly 219:23h

HTC Butterfly S19:14h

HTC Desire Eye19:11h

Oppo R81919:03h

Asus PadFone X18:45h

Xiaomi Mi 418:15h

Samsung Galaxy Note 318:12h

LG G2 mini18:11h

Oppo Find 7a18:11h

Samsung I9505 Galaxy S418:03h

Samsung Galaxy A5 Duos18:02h

Samsung Galaxy A518:02h

LG G Flex217:51h

Sony Xperia ZR17:48h

HTC One (E8)17:47h

LG G416:40h

Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active16:40h

Nokia Lumia 93016:40h

Sony Xperia M216:40h

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact16:40h

Sony Xperia M2 Aqua16:39h

Motorola Moto E16:38h

Motorola Moto E Dual SIM16:38h

Meizu MX416:25h

Sony Xperia Z3+16:13h

Sony Xperia Z16:03h

Samsung Galaxy K zoom16:01h

Microsoft Lumia 435 Dual SIM15:50h

Microsoft Lumia 43515:50h

Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML15:47h

Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom15:32h

LG Optimus G E97515:30h

Archos 50 Diamond15:23h

Sony Xperia ZL15:22h

Nokia Lumia 72015:17h

ZTE Blade S615:01h

Nokia Lumia 83014:56h

Meizu m1 note14:53h

Xiaomi Redmi 1S14:51h

HTC Desire 81614:46h

Motorola Moto X (2nd Gen)14:45h

Huawei Honor 714:33h

Alcatel Idol X+14:41h

Xiaomi Mi Note14:31h

BlackBerry Q514:31h

Sony Xperia E314:28h

Microsoft Lumia 532 Dual SIM14:24h

Microsoft Lumia 53214:24h

HTC Desire 820 dual sim14:17h

HTC Desire 82014:17h

Huawei Ascend P614:17h

Nokia Lumia 62014:17h

Oppo Find 514:17h

Motorola Moto G 4G14:17h

Pantech Discover14:17h

LG Nexus 4 E96014:17h

Nokia Lumia 63514:17h

Nokia Lumia Icon14:15h

HTC One (M8)14:15h

Oppo N314:14h

Motorola Moto X14:06h

HTC Desire 51014:06h

Motorola Moto G13:41h

HTC One13:38h

Huawei Ascend P713:36h

Xiaomi Mi 313:28h

Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo13:20h

Nokia Lumia 63013:20h

Samsung Galaxy Alpha13:20h

Samsung Galaxy Grand I908212:45h

LG Optimus GJ E975W12:39h

Oppo R1x12:33h

Xiaomi Redmi 212:33h

Huawei Ascend P112:30h

Lenovo Vibe X212:30h

Nokia Lumia 92812:27h

Apple iPhone 612:23h

HTC Butterfly12:18h

Samsung Galaxy S III I74712:18h

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini12:18h

Microsoft Lumia 535 Dual SIM12:15h

Samsung Galaxy Note N700012:14h

HTC One E9+12:07h

BlackBerry Leap12:05h

HTC One mini12:04h

Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam11:58h

HTC Desire 600 dual sim11:58h

Samsung Galaxy Core I826011:52h

Motorola Moto G (2nd gen)11:49h

Gionee Elife S5.511:32h

Samsung S8600 Wave 311:07h

HTC Windows Phone 8X11:07h

Sony Xperia E4g11:07h

Sony Xperia E411:07h

HTC One SV11:07h

Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus11:06h

HTC Desire X11:03h

Meizu MX311:02h

Samsung I9500 Galaxy S411:01h

Apple iPhone 5s10:46h

Nokia XL10:45h

Apple iPhone 5c10:18h

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III10:15h

Samsung S7710 Galaxy Xcover 210:03h

LG Nexus 510:01h

Samsung Galaxy Express I873010:00h

HTC One V10:00h

Meizu MX 4-core10:00h

Lenovo S90 Sisley10:00h

HTC One mini 209:58h

HTC One X9:57h

Oppo R59:45h

Apple iPhone 6s9:41h

BlackBerry Z108:20h

BlackBerry Curve 93806:52h

The web browsing performance on the updated Safari app turned out nothing short of impressive, scoring almost 12 and a half hours before the battery went dead.

Web browsing

Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G16:41h

Sony Xperia E416:40h

Samsung Galaxy S6 active16:25h

Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet LTE15:05h

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact14:52h

Meizu MX414:06h

Huawei Ascend Mate713:53h

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini13:14h

HTC Butterfly 213:11h

Meizu m1 note13:05h

Huawei Honor 612:59h

Sony Xperia C12:45h

Motorola Moto E (2nd gen)12:42h

Nokia Lumia 152012:40h

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact12:37h

HTC One (M8) for Windows12:31h

HTC Desire 700 dual sim12:30h

HTC One (M8)12:29h

Apple iPhone 6s12:27h

Sony Xperia T2 Ultra12:17h

Sony Xperia Z312:03h

Nokia XL11:54h

Sony Xperia Z3+11:51h

HTC Desire 81611:48h

Sony Xperia C3 Dual11:47h

LG G211:42h

Samsung Galaxy A5 Duos11:36h

Samsung Galaxy A511:36h

Sony Xperia E4g11:32h

LG G2 mini11:02h

Samsung Galaxy Note 411:01h

Nokia Lumia 132010:58h

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge10:56h

Samsung Galaxy S610:56h

HTC Desire 51010:53h

Microsoft Lumia 532 Dual SIM10:52h

Motorola Moto G 4G10:52h

Microsoft Lumia 53210:52h

Samsung Galaxy Note510:43h

Huawei Honor 710:38h

LG AKA10:38h

Nokia Lumia 83010:36h

Apple iPhone 610:29h

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+10:25h

Meizu MX4 Pro10:24h

Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE10:23h

Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM10:23h

Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM10:23h

Nokia Lumia 63010:18h

Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE10:14h

Microsoft Lumia 640 XL10:14h

Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM10:14h

Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM10:14h

BlackBerry Passport10:12h

BlackBerry Q510:04h

HTC Desire Eye10:02h

HTC One (E8)10:02h

Nokia Lumia 63510:00h

Apple iPhone 5s9:58h

HTC One9:58h

Apple iPhone 59:56h

Meizu m2 note9:54h

OnePlus One9:46h

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo9:43h

Alcatel Hero9:40h

Samsung Galaxy S59:39h

Samsung Galaxy Core LTE9:37h

LG G Flex9:31h

LG G Pro 29:31h

Xiaomi Mi 49:31h

Samsung Galaxy A7 Duos9:30h

Sony Xperia T39:23h

Microsoft Lumia 4359:22h

Microsoft Lumia 435 Dual SIM9:22h

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge9:20h

vivo X5Max9:19h

Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE9:16h

Motorola RAZR MAXX9:12h

HTC Desire 820 dual sim9:10h

HTC Desire 8209:10h

Samsung Galaxy K zoom9:10h

Oppo R1x9:10h

Samsung Galaxy Grand 29:05h

Apple iPhone 5c9:05h

Samsung Galaxy S5 Active9:05h

Apple iPhone 6 Plus9:05h

Oppo N19:05h

Motorola Moto G9:04h

Samsung Galaxy Note 39:04h

Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom8:51h

Samsung Galaxy Note II N71008:48h

Motorola Moto E Dual SIM8:42h

Motorola Moto E8:42h

BlackBerry Q108:42h

Sony Xperia M2 Aqua8:38h

Xiaomi Mi 4i8:27h

Samsung Galaxy Alpha8:25h

Asus PadFone 28:20h

Nokia Lumia 8108:20h

Nokia Lumia 7358:20h

Huawei Ascend Mate8:17h

Motorola Moto X8:17h

Samsung Galaxy E78:17h

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I92008:17h

Oppo N38:16h

HTC One mini8:12h

OnePlus 28:05h

HTC One E9+8:05h

Xiaomi Mi 38:04h

Lenovo Vibe X28:01h

Motorola Nexus 67:54h

LG G47:54h

Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML7:52h

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro7:42h

Samsung I8190 Galaxy S III mini7:38h

BlackBerry Leap7:37h

Nokia Lumia 7207:37h

Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active7:35h

HTC One M97:31h

Samsung I9505 Galaxy S47:24h

Oppo R77:22h

Archos 50 Diamond7:20h

HTC Radar7:17h

Nokia Lumia 5207:15h

Huawei Ascend P77:13h

Motorola Moto X (2nd Gen)7:11h

Sony Xperia M7:09h

Oppo Find 7a7:09h

Sony Xperia J7:06h

Motorola RAZR i XT8907:06h

Gionee Elife S5.17:04h

ZTE Blade S67:01h

Lenovo S90 Sisley7:00h

Samsung I9500 Galaxy S46:58h

LG Optimus G Pro E9856:40h

BlackBerry Curve 93806:40h

ZTE Axon Pro6:39h

Sony Xperia Z6:37h

Motorola Moto G (2nd gen)6:37h

HTC One mini 206:33h

Huawei Ascend P66:30h

LG G36:29h

BlackBerry Z106:27h

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III6:27h

HTC Butterfly6:24h

Yota YotaPhone 26:23h

Xiaomi Mi Note6:19h

Sony Xperia SP6:18h

LG G Flex26:16h

Sony Xperia Z15:59h

Sony Xperia ion LTE5:56h

Alcatel Idol X+5:55h

Samsung Galaxy Fame S68105:55h

Samsung Rugby Smart I8475:53h

Xiaomi Redmi Note5:53h

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G T7695:45h

Xiaomi Redmi 25:41h

Nokia Lumia 9205:40h

Nokia Lumia 9285:36h

Samsung S8600 Wave 35:34h

Samsung i927 Captivate Glide5:33h

Oppo Find 55:33h

Nokia Lumia 9005:25h

Samsung Galaxy Note I7175:24h

HTC Desire 616 dual sim5:24h

Samsung Galaxy S Duos S75625:23h

Sony Xperia Z Ultra5:23h

Microsoft Lumia 535 Dual SIM5:21h

LG Optimus G E9755:15h

Gionee Elife S5.55:10h

Oppo Find 75:02h

Nokia Lumia 9304:57h

LG Nexus 54:45h

Oppo R54:05h

HTC One S4:03h

HTC One S C24:03h

BlackBerry Bold 97904:02h

The video playback endurance turned out very good, if not quite as impressive - the iPhone 6s is capable of playing movies for more than 10 and a half hours, before its battery reaches the critical 10%. The test was done at 50% brightness (which is higher than the real 50% mark) and on the default Video app.

Video playback

LG G Flex19:57h

Samsung Galaxy S6 active18:03h

Huawei Ascend Mate2 4G18:01h

Samsung Galaxy Note 417:52h

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+13:53h

Samsung Galaxy Note513:51h

Samsung Galaxy Note 313:32h

Sony Xperia T2 Ultra13:12h

Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini13:12h

Nokia Lumia 102013:12h

HTC One Max13:11h

Motorola Moto E (2nd gen)13:04h

Huawei Honor 612:51h

Meizu MX4 Pro12:41h

Nokia Lumia 152012:31h

Samsung I9505 Galaxy S412:30h

BlackBerry Q512:28h

Sony Xperia Z212:16h

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge12:12h

Samsung Galaxy S612:12h

Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE12:10h

LG AKA11:54h

Sony Xperia Z311:47h

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo11:38h

OnePlus One11:23h

HTC One (E8)11:16h

Samsung Galaxy S511:15h

Oppo N111:15h

BlackBerry Q1011:15h

HTC One (M8) for Windows11:15h

Apple iPhone 6 Plus11:15h

Meizu m1 note11:09h

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini11:02h

Asus PadFone X11:01h

Apple iPhone 6s10:46h

BlackBerry Passport10:46h

vivo X5Max10:44h

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge10:41h

LG G Flex210:35h

HTC Desire Eye10:35h

HTC Desire 81610:34h

Apple iPhone 5s10:31h

HTC Butterfly 210:26h

LG G2 mini10:23h

Nokia Lumia 73510:20h

Apple iPhone 510:12h

Xiaomi Mi 4i10:11h

HTC One (M8)10:11h

HTC One10:02h

Motorola Moto X10:01h

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact10:01h

Motorola Nexus 610:01h

Samsung Galaxy A7 Duos9:58h

Nokia Lumia 8309:58h

Sony Xperia T39:56h

HTC Desire 5109:54h

Nokia 808 PureView9:53h

Alcatel Hero9:49h

Oppo N39:49h

Sony Xperia M9:49h

Huawei Honor 79:43h

Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE Dual SIM9:43h

Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE9:43h

Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM9:43h

Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam9:42h

Samsung Rugby Smart I8479:34h

Oppo R79:33h

Meizu MX49:31h

Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom9:30h

HTC One S9:28h

Xiaomi Mi 39:28h

LG G29:28h

HTC One S C29:28h

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III9:27h

Apple iPhone 4s9:24h

Apple iPhone 69:24h

Samsung Galaxy mini 2 S65009:22h

Sony Xperia M2 Aqua9:21h

Oppo Find 7a9:19h

Samsung Galaxy A59:18h

Samsung Galaxy A5 Duos9:18h

Nokia Lumia 13209:17h

HTC Butterfly S9:03h

Oppo R1x9:02h

Sony Xperia E9:00h

Motorola DROID RAZR M9:00h

Sony Xperia E49:00h

BlackBerry Leap8:59h

Microsoft Lumia 532 Dual SIM8:51h

Microsoft Lumia 5328:51h

Sony Xperia Z Ultra8:45h

BlackBerry Z108:44h

Samsung Galaxy Grand 28:41h

Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE Dual SIM8:40h

LG Optimus G Pro E9858:40h

Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM8:40h

Microsoft Lumia 640 XL8:40h

Nokia N98:40h

Microsoft Lumia 640 XL LTE8:40h

Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML8:34h

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I92008:34h

Samsung Galaxy A38:34h

Samsung Galaxy A3 Duos8:34h

LG G38:30h

OnePlus 28:28h

HTC Butterfly8:28h

Microsoft Lumia 435 Dual SIM8:27h

Microsoft Lumia 4358:27h

Sony Xperia E38:26h

Samsung Galaxy Note N70008:25h

Archos 50 Diamond8:24h

HTC One M98:21h

Huawei Ascend P78:10h

Samsung Galaxy Alpha8:05h

Xiaomi Redmi 28:01h

Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II8:00h

ZTE Blade S68:00h

Samsung I8190 Galaxy S III mini7:46h

Sony Xperia Z3+7:46h

Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V7:45h

Yota YotaPhone 27:41h

Apple iPhone 5c7:41h

Huawei Ascend P17:38h

Asus PadFone 27:38h

Motorola Moto X (2nd Gen)7:31h

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro7:29h

ZTE Axon Pro7:27h

Motorola Moto G 4G7:27h

HTC One mini7:23h

LG G47:23h

HTC Desire 820 dual sim7:10h

HTC Desire 8207:10h

Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active7:03h

HTC One E9+7:00h

Xiaomi Mi 47:00h

Xiaomi Redmi 1S6:42h

Motorola Moto G6:37h

Nokia Lumia 9006:37h

Meizu MX 4-core6:33h

Nokia Lumia 6206:32h

Xiaomi Mi Note6:32h

Motorola Moto E6:31h

Motorola Moto E Dual SIM6:31h

Alcatel Idol X+6:29h

Nokia XL6:28h

Meizu m2 note6:27h

Nokia Lumia 9206:19h

HTC Sensation XL6:12h

Sony Xperia E16:12h

Sony Xperia Z16:12h

Nokia X6:10h

Gionee Elife S5.16:06h

Samsung Galaxy Pocket S53006:06h

Motorola Moto G (2nd gen)6:05h

HTC One mini 206:05h

Gionee Elife S5.56:02h

Oppo Find 75:58h

Nokia Lumia 9305:48h

BlackBerry Bold 97905:47h

HTC One X5:45h

Sony Ericsson Xperia pro5:44h

Sony Xperia Z5:39h

Oppo R55:27h

Microsoft Lumia 535 Dual SIM5:27h

Oppo Find 55:18h

Nokia Lumia 900 AT&T5:18h

Xiaomi Redmi Note5:18h

HTC Desire 616 dual sim5:15h

BlackBerry Curve 93805:09h

Lenovo Vibe X25:09h

The iPhone 6s posted very balanced score across all of our tests - it can do about 10 hours of 3G calls or video playback on a single charge, while you can browse on Wi-Fi for half a day. The standby endurance turned out rather average - the phone will last about 8 days on a single charge if left idle.

So, the total endurance of the iPhone 6s is 62 hours - an hour better than the iPhone 6. This means 62 hours is how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the iPhone 6s for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily.

Our proprietary score also includes a standby battery draw test, which is not featured in our battery test scorecard but is calculated in the total endurance rating. Our battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you want to learn more about it.